From staff reports
A project that focuses on providing specialized food packages for families with autistic members is being renewed.
Autism Stands, an organization that advocates for people with autism while also bringing about awareness, will renew the Blue Box Program on Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Center, 311 Emerald St. in Oil City, according to Brandy Hinojosa, founder of the nonprofit.
The project originally started in November, Hinojosa said, “because a lot of autistic individuals won’t or can’t eat a lot of the food provided by most food banks. With that in mind, we ask them for their three favorite foods and make sure they are provided for.” Many autistic individuals are “picky eaters” due to a hypersensitivity to textures, according to the Child Mind Institute.
“We ran out of funding, but we applied for more grants and now we get to open back up again,” she said.
One of those grants, according to Hinojosa, is one recently administered to Autism Stands by Bridge Builders from PNC Trust and Foundations.
Currently, the Blue Box Program only provides for families in Venango County, but eventually Hinojosa would like to branch out to Clarion County.
“It took me a good year to get the Blue Box Program established; right now my main focus is getting it back up and running,” she said.
Families with autistic members who wish to sign up for the Blue Box Program can fill out application forms at the St. Elizabeth Center. Distribution for the food pantry and the Blue Box Program will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.
“I’m just happy we are able to help,” Hinojosa said.
